GDC 2008: The Best Interactive Stories

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When professionals collide.

By Jimmy Thang

An expert panel of writers and game developers came together recently at GDC to talk about "Stories that were best played". Richard Rouse, game developer and author, spearheaded the discussion by gathering icons in the industry to get their opinions on which games they thought had the best interactive storytelling. These four industry experts were allowed to pick two pieces of videogame art that exemplified this topic.

The first game mentioned was a adventure game released in 1990 called "Loom", which was chosen by Steve Meretzky. He advocates that Loom pushed the medium into new heights. He cites one instance in the game where an ice path was blocked by a series of musical notes, playing these musical notes backwards reverses the spell and allows the gamer to proceed. In addition, the ending was revolutionary for gaming at the time; it was an ending filled with despair, one of the first computer game endings to not have a happy ending. As a result of Loom, renowned fiction writer Orson Scott Card said "Games are the future to story".

Ken Rolston then went on to advocate "Thief: the Dark Project" as his first pick. He cites the great writing and dialogue, and talks about how it's as "inventive as any good fantasy literature". In addition he says that Thief's world felt "rich and alive". Even though he truly appreciates the fact that it feels like it's grounded in reality, he likes the fact that it draws you in by gradually foreshadows strangeness upon you. But not everybody agreed with each other, as Marc Laidlaw states he "didn't care about the story". He liked the game, but enjoyed it for its innovative game play. He had the habit of killing people only to hide their bodies, a game play mechanic that was unheard of at the time.

Laidlaw then goes onto give his nod to "Planescape: Torment" as his first choice. "You play as THE NAMELESS ONE!" he exclaims, which is literally caps locked in the game. He enjoyed it because the game was full of wit and clever dialogue. He also appreciated the fact that it made fun of games in general. For instance, when you wake up at the beginning of the game you have no idea who you are. All you know is that you literally have game instructions tattooed on your back. "No wonder I'm in pain, there's a novel on my back!" – exclaims Laidlaw of the characters' dialogue. It's clever because the game equates exposition as a burden for a gamer, as it is literally shoved onto his shoulders.

Next up Richard Rouse gave his nod to "BioShock". He appreciates BioShock because the story and game are combined as one, and there are no breaks in the game play. He appreciates the well thought scripted sequences and compelling voice over work as well.

Moving back to Meretsky, he cites that he was impressed by "The Fool's Errand". He appreciated its approach to interactive story telling. What made the game interesting is that in order for the gamer to proceed through puzzles, he had to look for clues within the story.

Laidlaw's next pick was somewhat of a shocker for the audience, he picked "The Chronicles of Riddick" and appreciated the fact that the player "always knows what to do". He also mentions it's cool to play as a "slickly licensed" badass, and there are nice touches of involvement, such as when you lose your weapons early on in the game. You then feel motivated to kill to get them back, cites Laidlaw. Meretsky played the devil's advocate when it came to this game by stating that he thought it was a "generic" game that emphasizes escaping from a poorly designed prison.

Ken Rolston next pick was "Phoenix Wright". It's a quasi detective story of sorts because in the game everyone lies, and your job is to extract evidence and clues together. Therefore, the characters serve as a point where game play and narrative intersect.

The last game that was mentioned was "ICO", picked by Rouse. He think its unique because it doesn't give you any back story, or try to explain anything to you before throwing you into the world. He also stresses the game's importance of defining the characters emotions and personalities through the animations and interactions between the two protagonists. In the game, you play a little boy trying to save a girl, a typical set up but presented in a unique, minimalist way. By the games end you have traversed many dangers together but… *spoiler warning* …when all is said and done you try your best to save her from falling off a cliff, you grab her hand and hold on to it tight, you try so hard with controller in hand… yet ultimately your acts are futile, as she becomes trapped within the darkness. It gives the gamer such a visceral link to the characters. "Clearly this story is best told as a game" says Rouse. "It's not possible on any other medium."

So in conclusion with all of these great ways of storytelling in mind, can games stand up to other storytelling mediums? The general consensus from the panel is no, at least not yet. When games start figuring out how to fully embrace their story telling medium then perhaps, asserts the panel. So it seems like games have a lot of potential… but it looks like we're not quite there yet kids.